What better way to spend a Tuesday night than with a great group of fellow divers at a local dive shop. Thanks to Eco Dive Center, we had the unique opportunity to spend time with the Sea Shepherd Organization and learn what their conservation efforts are really about. (To those of you in the Los Angeles area, Eco Dive Center holds a monthly diver get-together the first Tuesday of every month!)
We were very excited to learn more about Sea Shepherd and their adventures while filming of Whale Wars. To say that we learned a lot during their visit would be an understatement. They are a group of dedicated individuals who sacrifice having a “normal” life; leaving their families and friends behind, so they can help save helpless animals
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIgPe9joWbU]
As we settled in and began to listen to the seminar, we learned that the Sea Shepherd Organization has actually been operating since 1977, long before the inception of Whale Wars. We were further impressed by the fact that they have wildlife protection efforts not only in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary but also in, Taiji, Japan (where the documentary The Cove was based on), Fiji, Cocos Islands and many other locations around the world.
We learned that over 70% of the world’s population of sharks have already been killed, leaving many species of sharks nearly on the endangered list. This absolutely shocked us. As we continued to listen, we became more and more grateful for the dedication of organizations like Sea Shepherd. Not only does Sea Shepherd defend whales, but they are also involved in the conservation of sharks, seals, dolphins, and blue fin tuna.
Leaving the Sea Shepherd presentation we were overcome with sadness. However, as we thought about the message that the Sea Shepherd team delivered, our sadness turned to hope. With the efforts of organizations like Sea Shepherd, people around the world will be educated and inspired to take action to help save our oceans. The future generations deserve to enjoy seeing a whale, or a shark when they are out enjoying our beautiful world.
We have hope that through the combined efforts of Sea Shepherd and the other organizations in the world along with the voice of the scuba diving community, we will be able to make a difference and be the voice for the animals that are senselessly killed every day.
Thank you Sea Shepherd for leading the charge to bring awareness to the challenges that our ocean is facing and standing up to the world to defend it!
What are your favorite conservation groups? Let us know by commenting below.
Happy Diving!